Unglue new bath from wall

[pmx_super]

Another day on my renovation project, another job I want them to re-do

With the best intentions the plumber spoke to the tiler and agreed to set the bath rim at the height of 1 full tile (600mm). The better half is only 4'10" and the kids even shorter, so it looks like they'll need a step to climb in. Suffice to say rest of family are not happy and I have to admit it looks strangely high especially since it's a particularly shallow bath at <400mm. It's balancing on the last thread of the legs, plus a 4x2, plus 18mm ply! So now "we" want it lowered by 100mm. After all, the tiler can just cut the first tile.

Problem: the bath is silicone glued to the wall. The plumber told me proudly how that stuff never budges when he glued down the wet room tray. FWIW taps and waste aren't connected up yet.

Question: Is it possible to remove and if so how likely is plumber to either (a) punch me when I ask or (b) break the bath when he attempts to do what I asked?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

It's balancing on the last thread of the legs, plus a 4x2, plus 18mm ply! So now "we" want it lowered by 100mm. After all, the tiler can just cut the first tile.

Problem: the bath is silicone glued to the wall. The plumber told me proudly how that stuff never budges when he glued down the wet room tray. FWIW taps and waste aren't connected up yet.

How then would you propose to lower it? Are the 4x2 plus 18mm additional to the usual joist and floor timbers? If so why?

My own bath was installed just as low as it was reasonably practical to make it, because my partner was disabled. The rim sits at 510mm - To achieve that, the trap protrudes partially below floor level, set in a gap in the floorboards.

If the silicone is just ordinary silicone, removal will not damage the bath if done carefully.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Has it been tiled yet? If not it's very easy, Stanley knife (or if he's done a proper bead all the way across the hidden face use a longer knife).
Cleaning it off- sometimes easy, sometimes a pain- you can get chemical silicon eater but check it on a hidden bit of the bath first.
If it's been tiled already bit trickier....is it placcie bath or metal?

EDIT It's likely it has been set to that height either to clear a loo waste pipe or to achieve required fall for drainage so lowering it may not be as simple as you think

 

[opps]

Given that the room hasn't been tiled yet, it should be fairly easy to cut through the silione. The weakest point will be where the silicone meets the plaster. Personally, I would use an oscillating saw with a scraper blade. If you haven't got one, just use a cheap 18mm snap off blade knife. Purchase extra blades though because they may snap. Just keep running the knife along, going a tad deeper each time.

Once the bath is out, you can use a very sharp chisel to remove the excess.

 

[pmx_super]

How then would you propose to lower it? Are the 4x2 plus 18mm additional to the usual joist and floor timbers? If so why?

Yes - all that timber is to jack the bath up to 600mm. Timber makes sense to me. Balancing the bath at the tip of 120mm of threaded rod less so.

 

[pmx_super]

Has it been tiled yet? If not it's very easy, Stanley knife (or if he's done a proper bead all the way across the hidden face use a longer knife).
Cleaning it off- sometimes easy, sometimes a pain- you can get chemical silicon eater but check it on a hidden bit of the bath first.
If it's been tiled already bit trickier....is it placcie bath or metal?

EDIT It's likely it has been set to that height either to clear a loo waste pipe or to achieve required fall for drainage so lowering it may not be as simple as you think

Not tiled. Definitely a proper bead all the way across the hidden face, but thanks for confirming I'm not asking him to boil the ocean.

Height is solely to fit in with the 600mm tiles. It's a shallow bath so there's a crawl space under it now! Besides which there are 200mm joists and no ceiling below, with a drain run that's all of 800mm.

 

[pmx_super]

Given that the room hasn't been tiled yet, it should be fairly easy to cut through the silione. The weakest point will be where the silicone meets the plaster. Personally, I would use an oscillating saw with a scraper blade. If you haven't got one, just use a cheap 18mm snap off blade knife. Purchase extra blades though because they may snap. Just keep running the knife along, going a tad deeper each time.

Once the bath is out, you can use a very sharp chisel to remove the excess.

An oscillating saw so close to my new bath .

Is the sharp chisel is to remove it from the wall? Do I need to remove it from the bath? Will new stuff stick to the slightly older dry stuff?

 

[opps]

An oscillating saw so close to my new bath .

Is the sharp chisel is to remove it from the wall? Do I need to remove it from the bath? Will new stuff stick to the slightly older dry stuff?

Oscillating saw with a scraper blade, not a cutting blade.

Alternatively, you could use an Olfa scraper with the flexible blades. But they aren't cheap.

(Olfa XSR-300) £27.48 - Olfa Scraper XSR-300 X-Grip Heavy Duty Scraper 300mm Long

Olfa Scraper XSR-300 Top professional quality Olfa XSR 200 scraper works just as great as it looks! OLFA X-Grip Heavy Duty Scraper, Olfa Scraper XSR-300 X-Grip,

olfacutters.co.uk

And the (not sharp blades)

(Olfa BSF-6B) £7.69 - Olfa BSF-6B Flexible Scraper Blade

Olfa Blade BSF-6B 100mm x 45mm, Dual-Edge Flexible Scraper Blade, Olfa BS-10B Scraper Blade, Olfa,BS-10B, Scraper, XSR, XSR-200, XSR-300, XSR-600, Spare blade f

olfacutters.co.uk

You can safely tap Olfa scrapers with a hammer

 

[Tigercubrider]

what about some kind of sawing action with a flexible material?
we used dental floss to remove a massive double glazed unit that was screwed and stuck to a wall.

 

[opps]

what about some kind of sawing action with a flexible material?
we used dental floss to remove a massive double glazed unit that was screwed and stuck to a wall.

Wow dental floss. Genius but I guess that only works if you have two people either side of the fitting.

 

[opps]

An oscillating saw so close to my new bath .

Is the sharp chisel is to remove it from the wall? Do I need to remove it from the bath? Will new stuff stick to the slightly older dry stuff?

Sorry, the chisel is to remove the silicone from the bath once the bath is pulled out.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Not tiled. Definitely a proper bead all the way across the hidden face, but thanks for confirming I'm not asking him to boil the ocean.

Height is solely to fit in with the 600mm tiles. It's a shallow bath so there's a crawl space under it now! Besides which there are 200mm joists and no ceiling below, with a drain run that's all of 800mm.

Lazy tiler then